Rethinking Power and Resistance brought activists, organizers and scholars together to discuss issues relevant to activism and community organizing, such as; Arts as Advocacy, Pedagogies of Alliance and Resisting Criminalization. The video archive, produced with the assistance of videographer Andrea Zarate, contains footage of several panel discussions, a radio segment aired on KOOP 91.7 fm’s progressive news program, People United, and a post-conference promotional video. A few highlights from the collection include:

–Women in Hip-Hop Roundtable, featuring artist TooFly and hip-hop artists Yoli Zapata, DJ Trinity, Invincible, and Lah Tere. The Women in Hip-Hop roundtable features activist women participating in an open discussion about how race, sexuality, and gender have intersected to impact and shape their art, in addition to personal stories of how they got involved in art and music and their current activist projects.

–Making a Difference discussion with Miss Major, director of the Transgender Intersex Justice Project. Miss Major is a powerful activist and transgender elder working for transgender and intersex visibility and rights, especially in the prison system. Miss Major’s talk highlights the oppression faced by transgender women in the Prison System, many of whom are housed according to physical sex instead of of gender identity, which makes them vulnerable to harassment, sexual assault, and exploitation at the hands of other inmates. Miss Major’s talk is an open, frank discussion of the issues faced by transgender and intersex people both in and outside of the prison industrial complex, espousing a need to view transgender rights as part of the global human rights framework, not as a niche or special interest group.

–Rethinking Power and Resistance Promotional video, featuring interviews from conference organizers and attendees, as well as footage from Mama Said Knock You Out 2, a benefit concert for Mamas of Color Rising. This follow-up video to the conference contains interviews with conference participants, organizers and speakers as well as impressions of the closing concert, Mama Said Knock You Out 2.

To view photos from Mama Said Knock You Out 2, and read TooFly’s writing about her experience at the conference and creating live art during the concert, check out her blog post covering the event.

For those present in Austin, the Center for Women’s and Gender Studies and the Human Rights Documentation Initiative will be hosting a panel discussion celebrating the launch of the new video archive: https://www.facebook.com/events/158825117618238